The Star-Spangled Banner in the U.S.

           "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry, a poem written in 1814 by the 35 year old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort MCHenry in the war of 1812.
        "People are still trying to figure out what it means to be an American, to be a citizen of this country," said Kristin Schenning is director of education of the Maryland Historical society . And Symbols like the flag and the anthem, they  as come out of this conflict. A lot of things come out of the War of 1812 that help us define who we are as Americans. And I think the flag as a symbol became linked to the writing of the national anthem, 'Defence of Fort McHenry', or 'The Star-spangled Banner.' The actual banner is on display in a place of honor in the National Museum of American History in Washington, minus some snippets that were given away as souvenirs to War of 1812 veterans.
       This summer, a team of quilters took on the task of not only recreating the flag but doing so using the same painstaking process as the original flag maker, Mark Pickersgill. Pickersgill was "one of those forgotten heroes of the United States," said Schenning, "And she's a fascinating woman. She was in her mid-30s when she made the 'Star-Spangled Banner' flag. She completes it in six weeks. That's really a feat." This is a huge flag. It took an awful lot pf sewing. She would have been using candles." At Lord & Taylor, what happens before "The Star-Spangled Banner" is part theater. At 9:30 the store is only dimly lit, the watt-happy counters still turned off. The sound system plays lively contemporary music. The only sound on the sales floor is the descant of commerce, the clink of coins being counted and dropped in cash register drawers. At the front of the store, a guard stands between a lipstick display and a Chanel counter, facing the folding chairs. He tells early arrivals that they are welcome to sit down and wait. Back then she had only a handful of people to help her. This project took nearly 200 volunteers sewing for six weeks straight, all by hand, just  as Pickersgill did. No small feat given the flag's size, 42*30 feet. " We estimated the number of stitches to be about 150,000 said Schenning. That, I think now, is a low estimate.